Address—R. Thonney
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Yesterday, but a different verse.
John Chapter 3 beginning.
Well, actually it's just one verse and verse 34.
For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God. For God giveth, not the Spirit by measure. You'll notice Undo him is in italics. It's not there in the original. God giveth not the Spirit by measure.
Interesting to contemplate this truth.
And I'd like to connect on to where her brother.
Started yesterday. The fact that we have a God who is a giving God. Do you know God in that way?
I have to challenge my heart again and again, dear young people, dear older ones too, as to how I know my God.
So often I speak to people about God and it seems like the idea they have is that God is some agency monitoring my life and if I really give myself over to in that direction fully.
That there's going to be a lot of.
Things I'm going to have to give up.
Do you know God as a giving God, or do you know a God that wants to take away from you?
The God of the Bible is a God that is a giving God. And how does he give?
Here is the gift of the Holy Spirit spoken about.
My brother spoke about that yesterday afternoon.
And here he tells us how he gives that. Does he give in measure?
No, it says God gives not his spirit, the Spirit by measure.
Tremendous to think about now to join that.
Verse with one in Ephesians, chapter 5.
Ephesians chapter 5.
We'll read from verse 17.
Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is? Verse 18.
And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess.
But be filled with the Spirit.
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns.
And spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things, and to God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of God.
Particularly, I want to draw attention to what we have in verse 18.
The exhortation is be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.
Somebody that is filled with wine, it is easy to know it. Just watch how they walk, you'll see if they're filled with wine.
And someone who is filled with the Spirit, just watch how they walk. You'll understand that they're filled with the Spirit by their walk. And here in these verses associated with this verse gives us some of the telltale things about a person who is filled with the Spirit. Verse 17, be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
A person that is filled with wine is controlled by what he has taken in. You know, it's possible to be drunk, not necessarily with wine, but with things of the world that don't act, don't let you walk as a Christian ought to walk. You're under the power of those things in your life.
But for a Christian who is filled with the Spirit, he is controlled by the Spirit of God.
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But it's not without understanding, it's with understanding.
The understanding of the Word of God, the Spirit of God, or I should say is.
Part of the Godhead. We know that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit and we're talking about.
The third person of the Trinity when dwelling the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
There's part of us that is called our spirit. Man is a tripart being made in the image and likeness of God. He is spirit, soul and body. And the spirit part of man is the part that can reason, that can understand, that can communicate with God because God is a spirit as well.
And so there's understanding if you're filled with the Spirit, you're filled with.
Understanding another thing about a person filled with the spirit in verse 19 is.
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.
O brethren, here is an area I think we need to be exercised about.
The spontaneous flow of praise and worship to the Lord Jesus is it there.
In your life, and my life, is it there. Even in the Old Testament there was an offering.
That was called the continual burnt offering. It was never to go out.
It was to be always burning in one place, it says. It was to be burning all night until the morning.
The continual burnt offering, a sweet savour that continually rose to God.
That was what the Lord Jesus was in his death. It was a continual burnt offering. And I have to question myself, how much do I enjoy? How much do I relate to this in my own soul, the appreciation of what God Christ was to God.
Is there praise that flows from my heart, from my life? I'm not talking about something that everybody else says. We're going to have a saying and we get together merely. But is it something that's spontaneously flows from your life, The appreciation?
Of what Christ is to God. Oh I love it when I hear as they go around.
Some places to hear somebody just singing, not because everybody else is singing, but just because they have something on their heart that has to flow. It's a result of being filled with the Spirit of God. Some time ago in South America, I was inside a house and I don't even know exactly who was doing the singing outside. It was a little girl.
Three or four years old and she was singing Jesus loves me and it wasn't very correct what she was singing.
I don't think she had more in a couple lines, right, but the preciousness that it must have meant to God to hear that little girl pronounce that name of Jesus. His name is as ointment point poured forth. You know, I really believe we need to be exercised about praising the Lord more. Brethren, in our lives. We focus off times on ourselves, what we are, what is our testimony, and there's so much failure connected with it, brethren, we have to confess it.
But the more we're going to be occupied with the Christ of God, with that man who's the Sinner of all God's counsels for all eternity, the more automatic praise there's going to be to him. And that's positive testimony. Dear brethren, if you want negative testimony, look at me. Look at others who profess to carry the name of Christ. Our failure is evident. But if you want positive testimony, look at Christ.
And that's the purpose, that's the reason the Spirit of God is down here in this world, is to occupy us with Christ in glory.
We've often mentioned it. I'd like to repeat it.
That there are two cardinal truths.
Characteristic to this dispensation #1.
There is a man at the right hand of God, something that was never true in any other dispensation before this present dispensation.
There is a real living man of flesh and bones resurrected, and that God's right hand in the glory never was it true before.
#2 The Spirit of God as a person is here in this world, indwelling believers and uniting them to Christ in glory, occupying with them, with Him.
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And oh, how important these two truths are. And I'd like to focus mainly on this second part of this truth.
Being filled with the Spirit, I see many vessels here in this room tonight or this afternoon, but I want to ask you, is your vessel filled?
This is the exhortation, this is something that we are to be exercised about.
Be filled with the Spirit. We know that every true believer.
In chapter one of this epistle upon believing the gospel of their salvation.
Are sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. It doesn't say when they believed the Lord Jesus Christ. It says when you believed the gospel of your salvation. In other words, the gospel speaks about not only the person of Christ, but the work of Christ. And when you rest in the work of Christ where God rests, God says that's a saved soul. And he says, I put my seal upon that.
And we're sealed. Every true believer in this room has the Spirit of God dwelling in him, the seal of having believed the gospel of their salvation. But not every true believer is filled with the Spirit of God. In fact, I am not the judge of this matter, but I would guess that the percentage is rather low amongst God's people who truly are sealed by the Spirit of God.
Of those who are filled with the Spirit of God, why aren't we filled? What is it that hinders us being filled? This is an exhortation given to us, and I want to present it to you, dear young person, and dear older ones too, because it applies to us all.
Why aren't you filled with God's Spirit? Does God give the Spirit by measure? Did he only say I'm going to fill you half up? No, God doesn't give that way. When God gives, he doesn't give by measure. He's a great giver and He loves to fill. I suggest that the reason we are not filled is because there are other things filling our hearts, affections that hinder Him from filling us with His Spirit.
Sometimes give the illustration, if I have a glass of water, or I should say just a plain glass here that I want to fill with water, but it's half filled with dirt, before I can fill that glass with water, there has to be an emptying going on. I have to empty that dirt out of that glass.
Then I will be able to fill it. Why aren't you filled with God's Spirit? It's an exhortation that applies to you. Don't look at anybody else around. It applies to you. It applies to me.
Be filled with the Spirit. It's not God's fault if you're not filled with the Spirit.
It's not God's fault if I'm not filled.
Here's the one that gilt. Here's the guilty party, right here.
You know, dear young people, there are things that hinder God filling us with His Spirit He wants to fill. That's the kind of giving God we know. And I think sometimes when I consider the reasons why young people are not interested or don't seem to be ready to give themselves completely over to God.
Is because they have.
A fear that God's going to take away something that they enjoy in life.
And so they hold a little reserve pocket in their hearts.
I want to challenge you this afternoon to let go of those reserved pockets.
Let it go. God is such a tremendous giver.
That he delights to fill until you can't hold any longer, and that you're going to keep on overflowing.
Just let him keep on giving. That's the God we have. God gives, not his spirit by measure.
And so the exhortation to you and to me is be filled with the Spirit. I'd like to go to the Old Testament to an illustration of this in.
Second Kings. It is chapter 4.
Think it is.
Verse one.
Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant, my husband is dead.
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And thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord, and the creditor is come to take him to him, two sons to be bondsmen. And Elijah said unto her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in thine house? And he said, And she said, Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house save a pot of oil. And he said, Go borrow the vessels abroad of all thy neighbors.
Even empty vessels borrow not a few, and when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons.
And shall pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
So she went from him, and shut the door upon her, and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her. And she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more.
And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God, and he said, Go sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.
Oil is often a picture in the scriptures of the Spirit of God.
But here we have this woman who is in trouble.
My friends, to learn to come to God.
In simplicity, God gives and He gives not with measure.
No, here is this woman and the instruction from the prophet is go borrow vessels of thy neighbors, not borrow, not a few. So that was the injunction. Don't borrow a few. And so she must have gathered quite a few vessels into her house.
I don't know that she knew exactly what was going to happen.
But with those instructions, she started pouring out of that one vessel she had. Isn't it amazing that God starts with something that was in her house?
And the answer oftimes to our need is not at a great distance. It's right there in our own family circle, the answer to the problem. That's what she took. That's what the man of God instructed her to use. And she starts pouring, and she pours and she pours and she pours until all the vessels are full. If she would have gathered twice as many, they would have still all been full.
Because God doesn't give his Spirit by measure. And I look around today, here I see.
Young children. I see young people, older ones, young families.
Oh, it's great to see you here, but I wonder how many are filled with the Spirit of God? There are so many things that impede filling with the Spirit of God in this world. And God is such a great giver. He wants to fill you. He wants to fill you completely.
And are you holding out in some area of your life to God? Is there an area that is?
Still being held in reserve that you're not willing to open up to the light of the Word of God and to God's presence. I plead with you. You are robbing yourself. You are robbing yourself of knowing God as a giving God that wants to fill your life so completely you will not be able to contain it all. That's the kind of a giver our God is.
And so this woman had all her pots filled, she paid her debt, she could live of the rest. If she would have gathered, as I say, twice as many vessels, twice as many vessels would have been filled.
But I say we determine by our lack of faith so often the measure that God gives to us particularly.
Again, I say the exhortation to you, the exhortation to me is be filled with the spirit. I'd like to go over to the New Testament now to consider a family.
That was filled with the Spirit. Perhaps some of you know who I'm talking about right now.
It's interesting.
Sometimes we would think that the first one in the family to be filled with the spirit would be the father of the family.
But in the case we're going to take up, it wasn't the father of the family. It started with a child.
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And it started with an unborn child.
Tremendous interesting.
Cannot limit God in what He will do when He is given His place.
Let's go over to Luke chapter one.
The family, as you know now is the family of Zacharias the priest, and Elizabeth his wife and their son, which was John the Baptist.
Verse five of Luke one there was in the days of Herod the king of Judea.
A certain priest named Zacharias of the course of Abiyah, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and and ordinances of the Lord, blameless, And they had no child, because that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
And verse 11 There appeared unto him, that is Zechariah, an Angel of the Lord.
This is in the temple, on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the Angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayers heard. And thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son. And thou shalt call his name John, and thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. And he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.
And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zechariah said unto the Angel, Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
The Angel answered and said unto him, I am Gabriel with that stand in the presence of God.
And I am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings. And behold, thou shalt be dumb and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believeth not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. Here we have the first of the family that is spoken of that was to be filled with the Spirit of God, even from his mother's womb. What a trim, extraordinary child this was to be.
From his mother's womb filled with the Spirit of God.
And it says here in verse 15, he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.
In this sense of the word, John the Baptist was a Nazarite. If you go back to the 6th chapter of Numbers, you'll find the chapter on the Nazarites vow in one of the three prohibitions. One of the three requisites for being an azurite was to not touch wine or strong drink or anything that proceeded from the vine. The vine was something that came out of the earth, and it speaks of earthly joys, joys that come out of the earth.
They're not things that are naturally prohibited by God, but it was someone who wanted to dedicate themselves to the Lord in this way, and he took a vow of the Nazarite not to drink wine or strong drink.
This speaks to us of earthly joists. Sometimes young people say what's the wrong with such and such? What's wrong with sports? Nothing wrong with sports in themselves, but their earthly joys, joys that come out of this.
And if you want to be filled with the Spirit, those are things that you have to come to your decision to give up.
They don't mix be not drunk with wine whereas in excess.
But be filled with the Spirit. So John the Baptist was a man who was filled with the Spirit.
From his mother's womb tremendous to think about it never underestimate God's power to work in the youngest of children he can work and here we have him working right from the mother's womb. In the case of Samson in the Old Testament, his mother was told to not drink wine or strong drink while she was waiting for the birth of Samson and this shows the importance of even parents when they're.
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Waiting for their children.
What you partake of is going to have an effect on your children, like it or not.
It will have an effect. Be careful what you partake of. There may not be any particular prohibition about it in the scriptures directly, but I say if you want your child to be one that is filled with the Spirit of God, it has to do with your testimony too.
Now, going down further in this chapter, we have.
The Angel Gabriel coming to Mary, a virgin of the House of David, to announce unto her that she is going to be the mother of the Son of the Highest. The holy thing that will should be born of her is going to be called the Son of God.
Tremendous thing to think of that the God of the universe entered this world through the same channel.
As you and I have entered this world, only the Lord Jesus is important to maintain.
Had no earthly father. It's important that because the Lord Jesus had no sin nature, He could not sin, not only because he was God, but because He was.
Perfect holy humanity.
He had no earthly father. He was born of a virgin. Extremely important fundamental of our faith that we need to hold firmly and Mary after she receives the notice.
She says, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me, even as thou wilt, And then she.
Says it says in verse 39, Mary arose in those days and went into the Hill Country with haste into a city of Judah, and entered into the House of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth.
Came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she spake out of a loud with a loud voice, and said, Bless it, art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come unto me? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped.
In my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed.
There shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord in this beautiful. Here we have the first one that is filled with the Spirit of God, John the Baptist. And she here, and she and he in the womb of His mother, hears the voice of Mary saluting her mother, His mother, and he leaps for joy. You that have borne children will understand this, the movement of the children in the womb.
But you cannot limit the Spirit of God how He can work.
In the youngest, and this is tremendous to see.
The presentation of the person of Christ, the Spirit of God, will make it joy to the person who is filled with the Spirit. Oh, I say, this is an important thing. This unborn child leapt for joy because there was the Redeemer in the Redeemer's mother.
Coming to earth and she is he was filled with joy. Here's one of the characteristics of a person filled with the Spirit of God. He rejoices at the presentation of the person of Christ. I say young people, do you rejoice when the person of the Lord Jesus is presented is well spoken of? Is there joy in your soul that's characteristic of the Spirit of God in you.
And ho how tremendous it is.
Brethren, do we rejoice at the presence of the Spirit at the person of Christ? Do we rejoice?
Sometimes speaking to young people.
And turning the conversation to the Lord Jesus.
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The conversation gets kind of quiet.
Not much is said when the conversation is turned that way.
Talk about sports, talk about cars.
Talk about other things and we can have a lot to say.
Turn the conversation to the Lord Jesus. It gets quiet sometimes, even amongst older folks. We can talk about problems amongst brethren, and we have a lot to say about that. When the conversation gets turned to the person of the Lord Jesus, everything gets quiet. Brethren, do we rejoice at the presentation of the person of Christ? The person that is filled with the Spirit of God will rejoice when the Lord Jesus is exalted.
Here's an unborn child of mothers womb. Tremendous to think about it. The result is now that Elizabeth is filled with the Spirit of God. Isn't this wonderful? It doesn't start from father to mother to child. It starts the other direction from child to mother and then later on we're going to see to the father.
That's the order. It happened in this chapter. I think it's exercising this. We as fathers of family should be spiritual leaders, but oftentimes that's not the case. Zacharias here, when the Angel spoke to him, should have believed in simplicity, but he had his doubts. I'm an old man. My wife is an old woman. We're stricken in age. How could this be?
Gabriel, what a stately answer. I am Gabriel, stand in the presence of God. I'm sent to tell you this. You're going to be dumb now because you didn't believe my word.
If I'd read that through, I was thought, well, it sounded like he believed that maybe there was some doubts in his mind because of his age.
That really unbelief in any way.
Is in my heart is going to hinder blessing. Remember that dear young person, I've often said you can hang question marks all over me.
And others that you may know, but when it comes to God and His word when He speaks.
Don't dare put any question mark there, it doesn't belong. It will only hinder you and your spiritual.
Life don't allow any question mark there. That's the way Satan made Eve fall at the beginning. He called in question what God had said, and before she knew it she had eaten of the prohibited fruit and had given to her husband, and the human race had fallen into sin.
Terrible catastrophe because she allowed a doubt as to the goodness of God in his giving. Don't allow any doubts. Zacharias a lot of doubt. What was the result? He couldn't speak.
For that nine plus months of that year, he couldn't say a word.
Oh, how this speaks to my heart. Well, Mary Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and she has intelligence. It's interesting, she says, whence is this, That the mother of my Lord should come unto me. She says, blessed is the fruit of thy womb. She understands. Even though the Lord Jesus had just been perhaps recently conceived in Mary's womb, still she understands.
Tremendous understanding when a person is filled with the Spirit of God, when you give the Spirit of God.
His place in your life.
And she said to Mary, blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told of her from the Lord. Mary had believed. And so there was a real blessing in connection with it. And Mary starts praising the Lord from verse 46 on. Oh, it's tremendous when a heart is filled with the Spirit of God, the blessing that there can be. Remember, I want to make sure that it's understood here. A person that's filled with the Spirit of God is not.
Occupied with himself. He's not occupied with the Spirit of God, He's occupied with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the purpose.
Of the Spirit of God's presence here in this world, when we go down a little further.
In the chapter and John the Baptist is born and it comes to the 8th day, verse 59.
And they're going to circumcise the children. And that's when the name was publicly given. And they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, not so, but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by thy name. They made science to his father how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing table and wrote, saying, his name is John. And they all, and they marveled all. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake and praised God.
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Verse 67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up and horn of salvation for us in the House of his servant David, as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant.
The oath which he swear to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies.
Serve him without fear and holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. And then he goes on to address the child John. But what is comes out so distinctly here when John is filled with the Spirit of God. I say Zacharias is filled with the Spirit of God is that there is understanding of the times that he was living in. Oh brethren, I think it's so important today.
That there be understanding of the times we live in. It seems so often that those people.
Who have the very scriptures in their hands are asleep. That's what happened the first time that Jesus came.
They could tell the wise men from the east where it was that Jesus was to be born, but they had no idea that the.
Messiah, that the King of glory had been, had entered into this world. They were all asleep.
Word of God in their hands. They were intelligent as to it. They were zealous in defending the scriptures.
But they had no idea that the Lord Jesus Christ was.
Was down here in this world, no idea, completely oblivious to it. Is it possible that we can sit in these meetings with the word of God open in our hands and be totally oblivious to the person of the Lord Jesus to his glory? I really believe it's true. It's possible. Is it the case in your soul and mine? Do you look around in this room and just see the people that are sitting here? God never has given us authority to make.
As an object of our souls, any human being in this world other than our Lord Jesus Christ.
Never.
If you're looking around at the people, you're looking the wrong direction.
I want to turn your gaze up as Stephen, the first martyr, who was also filled with the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven. It takes some steadfast looking. Sometimes we're distracted by this brother said this and this brother said that.
I say, let's look up into the glory of God, the blaze of glory that shines in the face of Jesus Christ.
The Spirit of God is here to occupy us with Him.
And here is Zacharias is occupied with this person filled with the Spirit of God, has understanding of the times, has understanding of what's taken place, of who John is and of who the Lord Jesus is as well. Tremendous to think of the intelligence. These were people that weren't evidently noticed by the rest of the religious body in Israel.
But they certainly had understanding of the times.
And I want to challenge you, dear young person, and dear older ones too, to be exercised about this matter of being filled with the Spirit as Scripture speaks to us, exhorts us to be filled with the Spirit, and then to have understanding of the times that we live in. You know what really concerns me?
Say go back and forth between Latin America and the United States several times a year to see.
The stupor.
That so many so-called Christians are living in up here.
We're living, as we've mentioned before, in a man centered world.
It permeates our whole society.
The economic world.
Advertising. You owe it to yourself. Make it easy for yourself.
It's yourself that's the focus point everything in the educational world, in the.
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Communications world. Man is the center. Man is the center. Sometimes it's called the New Age philosophy. Sometimes it's called humanism. Whatever it's called, man is the center of it.
You can believe in God, you can talk about him no problem, but he's really an entity out there that doesn't really relate to the real world where I live. In the real world where I live, I'll have the last word. I'll determine my course, I'll say what I want to say and don't you contradict me too much because I have my rights.
That's humanism. That's the New Age philosophy, and it's taking people, it's taken Christians. I fear that I've been affected by it far more than I like to admit. When it comes to buying something, oftentimes is what I want, what I like. The question isn't what does the Lord want for me?
We've been affected by it, let's admit it. Let's wake up out of the stupor of materialism. It really concerns me. I feel that we're not alert, we're not understanding the times. It's a play that the enemy is making and even affecting Christians, and it's going straight towards the man of sin who's called in Daniel Chapter 11, the willful king or the king that does according to his own will.
It's the glorification of the human will. Again, I say you can believe in God, you can talk about God, but really he doesn't relate to.
The world that we talk about, some people are so bold and that.
New Age philosophy that's they say God is in everything. God is in a tree, God is in me, I am God. That's the way they talk. It's not the God of the Bible. It's not the God that we're talking about this afternoon. It's not the God that gives and gives without measure.
Oh, how he longs to fill. But I say if you are in control of your own life, if you're dictating where you're going.
And what you want to do?
And this can even have place in our own spiritual lives too as well.
Can't get to the meetings, I'm just too tired.
Oh, I see. It's a matter of what I like. I determine those matters. Or is it the word of God that dictates when he says not forsaking the assembling of themselves together?
What is it that dictates in your life, your young person? Is it your own desires, your own feelings? I say if it is, let's admit, let's be frank, that we've been affected by the stream, the current of present society. Do we have understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do, as the men of Issachar did in the Old Testament? How important that is. I really believe that we're far more affected by that spirit of things than we like to realize that. I commend it to you to think about your young person, dear older one, too.
The Lord help us to wake up out of the stupor that we've been let into and material things.
To realize what spiritual reality is. To realize the glory, the greatness.
Of the man that we profess to follow. He's not just an entity that is out there and doesn't relate to the real world we live in. He does relate to the real world. He is real.
And he relates to present day life in 1995.
Oh, how important this is to get these things straight, to have understanding. There's nothing that can substitute for being with filled with the Spirit and have understanding of the times. I'd like to, the few brief moments left, speak of a few scriptures in the New Testament that speak of the Spirit of God and its work in our souls. We've already spoken of being sealed with the Spirit of God that we have. Perhaps I could just refer briefly to a verse that combines.
Three things in First Corinthians chapter one and verse.
21 and 22.
Now he which establisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God, who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Have three things here, anointing ceiling and the earnest of the Spirit. Someone has said ceiling is for security.
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When a person believes the gospel of their salvation, God puts his seal.
His mark of ownership, if you want to use it that way on that person, never be lost because it has the seal of God on it, that soul that believes simply the gospel of their salvation. So the seal is for security and the earnest is for enjoyment.
God says I'm going to give you an inheritance that will boggle your mind. It's so great. In Ephesians chapter one and verse 10, it says the perhaps gives us the widest picture of the inheritance. Every created thing in heaven and in earth is the inheritance of the believer in the Lord Jesus. He's going to inherit it.
With Christ, for we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. But God says I don't want you to wait.
Until that time to enjoy these things, I want you to enjoy it right now, so I'm going to give you a down payment.
That's what it is. The earnest is a down payment. What if the down payment?
The Holy Spirit of God is the security.
That you are going to receive the inheritance in full.
Oh, how tremendous this is to enjoy, brethren. Do you and I enjoy it? Are we scraping to get more of this world's goods?
Or are we living in contentment, contented with what we have?
Knowing that in a future day all will be ours, How are we living? That's one of the purposes of the Spirit of God is the earnest somebody has given the illustration and I really like it. So supposing I want to buy a lot for that's got a price tag of $10,000 on it.
That instead of coming down and giving a down payment of maybe $1000, I say I'm going to give you $100,000.
And that's what God has done. Which is greater, the inheritance or the earnest of the inheritance?
Really, if you think I'm down to think about it, the Spirit of God that now dwells in the body of a believer is far greater than the inheritance could ever be.
God wants you to be so sure of receiving the whole inheritance.
That He has given you the earnest money already. He's given you the Holy Spirit of God in your hearts. One other thing, the anointing it speaks of in verse 21 and it was read in I think this morning in first John chapter 2. The anointing that you have received of Him dwelleth in you and you have not need that any man teach you.
It's the Spirit of God. The anointing is for intelligence and power in service, and the Spirit of God is that for you as well. For every true believer who has believed the gospel of their salvation, this is true of you. Don't complain to anybody else that you don't understand. Get into the presence of God. Let his Spirit fill your soul, your life, your body.
And there will be understanding in your life as well. The anointing is for intelligence and power in service. And I'd like to just briefly touch on three things that Scripture speaks about not doing to the Spirit of God. Negatives that we need to be aware of as well. The 1St is in Acts chapter 5, just to refer briefly to it.
Here there were two persons.
Who were evidently believers in the Lord Jesus.
And it was at a time when they were selling their goods and laying them at the apostles feet and self sacrifice.
And this couple agrees. Together, they're going to sell a property.
And instead of putting the full amount at the apostles feet, they're going to just put a part of it at the apostles feet and act like that was the full amount that they gotten for the property. It was a deceit. It was a lie.
You might have said, well, it was partially true. Yeah, it was partially true, but it wasn't the full truth.
00:50:01
When we deal with God, dear young people, we must deal with truth. God knows the very secrets of your heart. You cannot hide anything with God. Absolutely. Is there an area that you're trying to hide? Still, I say it's hindering you from being filled with the Spirit of God. Don't allow it to go on. Get it out into the light. Judge it. Be done with it.
And so Peter has to say to the wife, after Ananias had died in verse 9, how is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the spirit of the Lord?
A believer can tempt the spirit of the Lord by allowing sin in his life.
This is a pretty serious thing because for a lie.
They both fell dead pretty serious.
I wonder how many of us would be alive today if it were for a lie we'd get. We'd we'd die. I don't know, but it shows how important things that we think are very small items in life.
God wants you to give that out into the light and be done with it and not hide it any longer.
They tempted the Spirit of God. There's another one I want to refer to and.
Ephesians chapter 4 where it speaks about let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you in all malice. Verse 32.
Be kind says in verse 30. Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. We can grieve the Spirit of God by allowing sin in our lives one further one Our time is gone. Really.
In First Thessalonians chapter 5.
Says Quench, not the Spirit, verse 19.
We can quench the Spirit of God and this happens sometimes in our lives when we do not give the Spirit of God his liberty. And I want to say a word here, please, if you'll forgive me for goon a few minutes.
That it concerns me sometimes at our conferences that in our prayer meeting we wait for those who are so-called in the Lord's work to get up and pray when there are many here who are priests capacitated to pray as well. Brethren, are we going back to practices of the camp that had a separated priesthood? The Lord exercise our hearts when it comes to.
Pray, prayer and pray. It's not a matter of gift.
Not a matter of gift at all, but sometimes we start to fall into that way of thinking. The Lord exercised your heart, my heart, dear brother, and the Lord not to quench the spirit.
Sometimes we quench them in another way. It says here despise not prophesying.
And I just want to say this, some time ago I was talking to an older brother who was a help to me and he's I said to him when that particular brother speaking, I can't hardly listen to what he says.
And the brother said to me, despise not prophesying. It was a good word of exhortation for me. Even though you might not like that brother. Listen, God may be trying to say something to you through him. Doesn't say you have to accept everything says prove all things, hold fast that which is good. So it doesn't mean that you accept everything that's said. But listen, you might get something very helpful and profitable for your life. Don't turn the listening switch off just because you don't like it for certain brother.
These are important matters in connection with being filled with the Spirit. And dear young people, Yes, Oh my dear brother, and here I plead with you, let us get into the Lorde presence as to what hinders us being filled with the Spirit of God. Remember, it's not God's fault if I'm not filled with the Spirit. God gives not His Spirit by measure. The exhortation to you. The exhortation to me is.
Be filled with the Spirit. Let's just pray, gracious Father.